EXTRADURAL HEMATOMAS IN CHILDREN

The authors studied 58 patients, under 12 years of age, admitted to th e Emergency Room of the Sao Paulo University Hospital between Septembe r 1987 and November 1991 with the diagnosis of traumatic extradural he matoma. Emphasis was given to the etiology of injury, the time interva l from head injury to emergency room evaluation, the clinical features and the outcome after surgical and nonsurgical management. The site o f hematoma was defined and correlated with the presence of skull fract ures. Computerized tomography is the main diagnostic method, although it is not definitive. Fifteen patients were treated nonsurgically acco rding to rigid clinical and radiological parameters. The overall morta lity rate was 3.4%.